Comedy Festival

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT COMEDY FESTIVAL - PAGE 3

"I've been trying to work some incredibly personal stuff into my act," explained Chris Condren, a 24-year-old stand-up comic from Libertyville. He's appearing Wednesday at the Playground Theater on Halsted Street. He sounded hesitant to explain further, then continued: "Even now, as I'm saying this, I'm thinking I shouldn't be saying this. My mom is not thrilled with me. I'm at that point where I'm still figuring out what I want to talk about versus how it affects the people around me. Audiences forget: There is collateral damage in comedy.

Looking for big laughs? See local and national performers on three stages under one roof during this annual fest, billed as the world's largest event of its kind. Opening weekend features local acts Money in the Pants (8 p.m. Thursday), pH Productions (8 p.m. Friday), The Cupid Players (8 p.m. Saturday) and Creepy Hug (7 p.m. Sunday), plus Boston-based duo Somebody's in the Doghouse (8 p.m. Thursday). Don't miss the Saturday Sketchubator sessions, fast-paced midnight performances in which artists try out new material.

During the first week of May, Club Med at Columbus Isle on the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas is the setting for Olivia's second annual Comedy Extravaganza, with scuba and snorkeling by day and comediennes yukking it up by night. Featured entertainers are Roxanna Ward, Susan Jeremy, Amy Boyd, Elvira Kurt, Suzanne Westenhofer and Margaret Cho. Offered by Olivia Cruises & Resorts, the April 30-May 7 trip is designed primarily for lesbians, particularly lesbian couples. Until April 15, the cost is $1,799 for a beach-front room and $1,599 for ocean-view accommodations, including seven nights' lodging, all meals, daily activities and nightly comedy shows.

Bill Maher, Wanda Sykes, Kathy Griffin, Anthony Jeselnik and Whitney Cummings are among the comics lined up to perform as part of the 10th annual New York Comedy Festival in November. Five-day fest, founded by Carolines on Broadway owner Caroline Hirsch , pulls together some 175 comedians to perform in a roster of 50 shows at venues around New York. Carolines on Broadway produces in association with Comedy Central . Last year Kevin Hart shot his strong-selling stand-up pic "Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain" during the festival.

A major event in comedy is happening to the north of us, even as you read this. No, Andrew Dice Clay hasn't come to his senses. The Montreal International Comedy Festival is entering its final weekend, closing out with a show that is being taped for Showtime for a scheduled Aug. 7 airing. The festival, intelligently titled Just for Laughs, has for 11 years been offering comedy in all shapes and sizes. More than 340 performers from 17 countries were slated to appear at the festival, which began July 22 and ends on Sunday.

Stand-up comedians descended on Chicago this week as part of the annual Just For Laughs festival, presented by TBS and Twix, which continues through Sunday. Tribune entertainment reporters fanned out and caught some of bigger acts. Jim Jefferies "This is a weird room," said Australian comedian Jim Jefferies midway through his set Thursday at Park West, noting the festival's TBS "very funny" branding projected on the curtain behind him. "It's like I'm constantly being reminded.

When the 13th annual Sketch Comedy Festival kicks off at Stage 773 next week, it will mark the return of Danny Pudi, who performed in the first few installments of the fest before landing the role of Abed on NBC's "Community. " This is the first time Pudi is back at the fest in years, and he will be joined by longtime collaborators Ranjit Souri and Rasika Mathur, who together perform as Siblings of Doctors (Jan. 18), a name that riffs on the stereotype of high-achieving Indian-American families and the pressure this puts on offspring who choose to go the (usually financially unpredictable)

That's all Chicago needs -- another festival. But the City of Festivals' latest is one that some think is long overdue. The Chicago Comedy Festival, which kicks off Thursday, puts the city up with Montreal, Aspen, New York, San Antonio and several other locations around the country and around the world in offering yuks to the masses. The Chicago Comedy Festival, which focuses on standup, sketch, alternative and one-person comedy shows, comes on the heels of the Chicago Improv Festival, which took place March 31 through April 5. If the former is as successful as the latter was, then humor fans may have an effective one-two punch of laughs for years to come.